button in SafariFrom Zero to Hero: Daniel Aharoni Leads Final Quartet After Day 3 of $10k Big O
Late on Day 3 of Event #42: $10,000 Big O Championship of the 2026 World Series of Poker, Daniel Aharoni had already shaken hands with his three remaining opponents, thinking he had been eliminated in fourth place by Bruno Furth. Furth then noticed Aharoni had instead rivered a flush to double up, and, not even an hour later, Aharoni bagged a commanding chip lead of 13,050,000, worth nearly 90 big blinds when play resumes.
Ahoroni, returning to the spotlights for the first time since making the final table of the $100k Super High Roller at the 2024 WSOP, and Furth, who is close to capturing his third PLO bracelet in as many years, are half of a quartet of players who have survived three full days of five-card, split pot poker. The other half consists of $25k Fantasy pick Aaron Kupin and Doug Lorgeree, who is on his first WSOP final table in ten years and will be looking to do one better than his runner-up finish in 2016.
They are the last remaining players from a record-breaking field of 456 entries, and will come back to the Horseshoe and Paris Las Vegas on June 16 to divide the biggest prizes of the $4,240,800 prize pool, with the eyecatcher being the massive $861,287 top prize that comes with winning the WSOP bracelet.
Aharoni's lead is a sizable one, as his stack dwarfs those of his opponents. With Kupin bagging 5,350,000, Furth ending the night with 4,575,000, and Lorgeree having 4,460,000 at his disposal, the bottom three counts are within six big blinds of each other.
Day 4 Seating and Chip Counts
| Seat | Player | Country | Chip Count | Big Blinds |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Doug Lorgeree | United States | 4,460,000 | 30 |
| 2 | Aaron Kupin | United States | 5,350,000 | 36 |
| 3 | Bruno Furth | United States | 4,575,000 | 31 |
| 4 | Daniel Aharoni | United States | 13,050,000 | 87 |
With 30 players to start the day, Day 3 was a bit of a blast from the past, as poker boom icons Gus Hansen (27th - $27,669), Mike Matusow (14th - $39,786), and David Benyamine (10th - $49,316) all noted a deep run in the Big O Championship but could not quite reach the final table. Speaking of old-school legends, Viktor "Isildur1" Blom was still not able to capture his maiden bracelet, falling in 16th place for ($32,809).
Meanwhile, half of the players on the eight-handed final table have already been knocked out. Scott Clements and Sam Soverel both made their second final table of the series, with Clements coming out on top on his first appearance, but they were eliminated in eighth and seventh place, respectively.
Nick Schulman once again proved his induction into the Hall of Fame is more than deserved, as, not even halfway through the summer, he has reached his fourth final table of the year. However, he did not get a chance at capturing his second bracelet of 2026, becoming the last elimination of the night instead.
As a result, the final four players have already locked up $276,471 for their efforts. But with the top prize being more than three times as much, and six-figure pay jumps for every elimination, the players will have to carefully consider every move they make.
Final Table Payouts
| Place | Player | Country | Prize |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | $861,287 | ||
| 2 | $574,168 | ||
| 3 | $394,724 | ||
| 4 | $276,471 | ||
| 5 | Nick Schulman | United States | $197,362 |
| 6 | Sean Troha | United States | $143,645 |
| 7 | Sam Soverel | United States | $106,635 |
| 8 | Scott Clements | United States | $80,773 |
The final four players will return at 1 p.m. local time to play as many 60-minute levels as it takes to declare a winner. The blinds will restart in 100,000/150,000 with a 150,000 big blind ante. Small breaks are scheduled after every two levels, with the option for a dinner break being available if the day becomes unexpectedly long.
PokerNews will be back on the floor for the final day of the $10k Big O Championship, reporting the exhilarating apotheosis live from the tournament floor.